Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RebeccaBoyd]

Something in the velociraptor genetic line!

Oh you mean Momma Hens offspring then.

 

[rural mouse]

@RoyalChick neither are known as prolific egg layers. The giants aren't supposed to start laying until at least 6 months either.

@RoyalChick just looked at a hatchery page where chickens can be sorted by poor, fair, good, excellent laying rates. Meat breeds (which have their own issues) and dark Cornish are on the poor list. Fair list includes new Hampshires, orpingtons, Dominiques (slightly smaller, rose combed barred rocks for idea of what they look like), giants, brahmas, cochins, orloffs, welbars, some marans, barnevelders (Dutch breed, lay dark eggs), and brabanters (have a small FORWARD leaning crest like a spitzhauben). Breeds on the fair list tend to average about 2-3 eggs a week, as opposed to the excellent list which can lay 6-7/week. Found this on ideal poultry. List isn't exhaustive, but for breeds less likely to have laying/reproductive issues, gives you a place to start. (Followed by investigating what breeds are available to you locally).

Also note the layer rate varies with different sources. Most of the above mentioned breeds are on the good list with mcmurray hatchery.

 

[BY Bob]

Leghorns seem to be a popular choice lately. But Rocks are so much more trainable.

I disagree.

Fully trained. Even did tricks!

Completely untrainable. In fact I'm pretty sad that I have never reached her. I was doing much better with Sansa.

 

[featherhead007]

It’s cold out here. I’m bringing my cup of Coco inside to warm me up!

Here’s Coco. And yes that’s a picture of Phyllis on the back mirror!

 

[bgmathteach]

Any suggestions?

On a more serious response note:
Barred Rocks or
Cuckoo Marans or
Dominiques
(You really need a black & white Barred chicken!)

An Orpington of some sort
An Astralorp (they have the most lovely eyes!)
And a Wyandotte (gold laced? Silver laced?)
And a Speckled Sussex.

These last 4 do tend to be pretty human friendly/easy going birds! One or two of each would make your flock real eye candy!!

I would have recommended some Brahmas, but given you don't like feathered legs, they are out. Ditto with FBCM.

Note that I stayed away from Leghorns due to their production heritage here.....but @BY Bob 's Glynda is lovely (cream legbar) I also stayed away from real 'exotics' as they can be pricey....and Polish wouldn't be a good addition unless you got a couple. Though, I think Thing in @rural mouse 's tribe ( ?Houdan, I believe) seems to have integrated okay.

 

[featherhead007]

It’s cold out here. I’m bringing my cup of Coco inside to warm me up!

 

[bgmathteach]

I disagree.

Fully trained. Even did tricks!

View attachment 3390085

Completely untrainable. In fact I'm pretty sad that I have never reached her. I was doing much better with Sansa.

View attachment 3390089

Hmmm, my rocks are actually VERY GOOD at training!!! They have me trained quite well.

Seriously, thought....have you tried clicker training (dog clicker/training device?) My rocks are pretty smart. While I can't compare them to leghorns, they are no slouches in the intelligence department!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

No worries, RC. I suspect you didn't open that chicken book first......
I would have guessed a White Rhode Island Red...but she has white feet/legs, not yellow.

Then I was thinking White Orpington, but in all the pictures of them I saw, there was NO black in the tail. Ditto on the White Astralorp. I suspect a breed with European/British origins due to the white (not yellow ) skin...but beyond that, I'm stumped due to the black in the tail, but not neck (Columbian coloring)

So, unless she is a mix, I'm as stumped as you!!

I thought too that the body is very Orpington-like. And the light legs. But not the huge floppy comb. Isn’t that way too big for an Orpington?

 

[rural mouse]

On a more serious response note:
Barred Rocks or
Cuckoo Marans or
Dominiques
(You really need a black & white Barred chicken!)

An Orpington of some sort
An Astralorp (they have the most lovely eyes!)
And a Wyandotte (gold laced? Silver laced?)
And a Speckled Sussex.

These last 4 do tend to be pretty human friendly/easy going birds! One or two of each would make your flock real eye candy!!

I would have recommended some Brahmas, but given you don't like feathered legs, they are out. Ditto with FBCM.

Note that I stayed away from Leghorns due to their production heritage here.....but @BY Bob 's Glynda is lovely (cream legbar) I also stayed away from real 'exotics' as they can be pricey....and Polish wouldn't be a good addition unless you got a couple. Though, I think Thing in @rural mouse 's tribe ( ?Houdan, I believe) seems to have integrated okay.

Thing is iffy. If she's in need of a trim, she tends to stay close to the coop (and ends up taking a beating if she ventures too far and is deemed blind bird, threat to the welfare of the tribe). When she's had a good trim, she is more willing to explore, but she's a nervous/timid girl. Her sister was bolder, and if she'd survived, I think would have drawn Thing out more. That being said, she has been assertive with the younger birds. If @RoyalChick is looking at crested birds, I would recommend (at least for now) staying away from full crest unless they will be staying inside the fully enclosed areas. The forward crested birds and partial crested would not be a problem, but unless time is spent doing some serious crest trimming, Polish, Houdan, Crevecoeur (pain to spell), and Sultans are not such good choices for ranging (doesnt mean can't be done). The first 2 at least (dunno anyone with the other 2), can be easy to work with so getting them used to regular salon visits is doable (slow, treats after, read body language, better to do several shorter than 1 longer). Roosters for all those breeds grow their crests differently so can see more readily (although @Ponypoor has trimmed Mr. P also) than the hens can.

I'm not saying don't get those breeds. Just saying serious thought (which you do anyway). Flighty breeds (like leghorn and hamburg) tend to be more challenging to keep confined (term used in reading up on breeds, but not defined for the purposes of whichever source by dimensions). The Palace's space should provide more flexibility just based upon recommended space/bird (regardless of breed).

 

[bgmathteach]

But not the huge floppy comb. Isn’t that way too big for an Orpington?

A little, but I have had a couple Orpingtons with large combs. Probably not so much on the other side of the pond, though (but, yes, it is much larger than the average Orpington comb.)